ST. LOUIS – Missouri State was well represented on the first day of Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball postseason awards announced Tuesday with junior Alize Johnson (F, Williamsport, Pa.) and Obediah Church (So., Springfield, Ill.) earning league laurels.
Johnson was named to the All-MVC first team and the MVC All-Newcomer Team. Church was recognized as a member of the MVC All-Defensive Team, as voted by conference coaches, media representatives and communications personnel.
A two-time Valley Player of the Week and six-time Valley Newcomer of the Week, Johnson led the conference in rebounding at 10.5 per game, which ranks 11th nationally.He also leads MSU in scoring at 14.5 points per game while producing 16 double-doubles – the 13th-most in the nation — with 20 double-figure rebounding games. He enters the postseason with the second-highest season rebounding total of Missouri State’s Division I era (327) while converting 48.8 percent of his field goals and 39 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Johnson is the first Missouri State player since Kyle Weems (2011 and 2012) and the 12thplayer overall to earn All-MVC first-team distinction.
Church has started 24 of his 29 appearances this season and accounted for a league-high 71 blocked shots and 15 steals. He ranks 20th nationally with 2.45 blocks per game and is 18th in total blocks. One of the most-improved players in the league, Church converted 63.8 percent of his field goals this season, averaging 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game with 39 assists.
Church is the 11th MSU player to land a spot on the All-Defensive Team and first since Jermaine Mallett in 2011.
The MVC also announced its All-Freshman Team on Monday with additional award releases slated for Wednesday and Thursday. The 2017 MVC Tournament gets underway Thursday night at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.
Missouri State is the No. 6 seed for Arch Madness and will take on No. 3 seed Northern Iowa on Friday at 8:35 p.m. The game will air live on FOX Sports Midwest and the MVC Television Network.
2017 All-Missouri Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Team
First Team
Milton Doyle, Loyola, Sr., G, 6-4, Chicago (Ill.) Marshall High/Kansas
Alize Johnson, Missouri State, Jr., F, 6-9, Williamsport (Pa.) St. John Neumann High/Frank Phillips College
Paris Lee, Illinois State, Sr., G, 6-0, Maywood (Ill.) Proviso East High
Markis McDuffie, Wichita State, So., F, 6-8, Paterson (N.J.) St. Anthony High
Landry Shamet, Wichita State, Fr., G, 6-4, Kansas City (Mo.) Park Hill High
Second Team
Jaylon Brown, Evansville, Sr., G, 6-0, Fishers (Ind.) High
Deontae Hawkins, Illinois State, Sr., F, 6-8, Dayton (Ohio) Quakerdale Promise Academy
MiKyle McIntosh, Illinois State, Jr., F, 6-7, Pickering (Ontario, Canada) 22ft Academy
Jeremy Morgan, UNI, Sr., G, 6-5, Coralville (Iowa) Iowa City West High
Sean O’Brien, Southern Illinois, Sr., F, 6-7, Mundelein (Ill.) High
Third Team
Conner Frankamp, Wichita State, Jr., G, 6-1, Wichita (Kan.) Univ. of Kansas
Donte Ingram, Loyola, Jr., G/F, 6-6, Chicago (Ill.) Simeon High
Shaquille Morris, Wichita State, Jr., C, 6-8, Edmond (Okla.) Memorial High
Brenton Scott, Indiana State, Jr., G, 6-1, Fort Wayne (Ind.) Northrup High
Reed Timmer, Drake, Jr., G, 6-1, New Berlin (Wis.) Eisenhower High
All-Newcomer Team
Phil Fayne, Illinois State, So., F, 6-9, Elk Grove (Calif.) Franklin High
Aundre Jackson, Loyola, Jr., F, 6-5, Kennedale (Texas) High
Alize Johnson, Missouri State, Jr., F, 6-9, Williamsport (Pa.) St. John Neumann High/ Frank Phillips College
Landry Shamet, Wichita State, Fr., G, 6-4, Kansas City (Mo.) Park Hill High
Darral Willis Jr., Wichita State, Jr., F, 6-9, Madison (Wis.) Pearl River (Miss.) CC
All-Freshman Team
Koch Bar, Bradley, C, 6-11, Abyei (South Sudan) Arlington Co. Day School
Jordan Barnes, Indiana State, G, 5-11, St. Louis (Mo.) Christian Brothers High
Darrell Brown Jr., Bradley, G, 5-10, Memphis (Tenn.) Germantown High
Spencer Haldeman, UNI, G, 6-1, Peosta (Iowa) Western Dubuque
Landry Shamet, Wichita State, G, 6-4, Kansas City (Mo.) Park Hill High
Dru Smith, Evansville, G, 6-3, Evansville (Ind.) Reitz High
All-Defensive Team
Thik Bol, Southern Illinois, Jr., F, 6-8, Omaha (Neb.) Iowa Western CC
Zach Brown, Wichita State, Jr., F, 6-6, Houston (Texas) Sunrise Christian Academy
Obediah Church, Missouri State, So., F, 6-7, Springfield (Ill.) High
Paris Lee, Illinois State, Sr., G, 6-0, Maywood (Ill.) Proviso East High
Jeremy Morgan, UNI, Sr., G, 6-5, Coralville (Iowa) Iowa City West High
Tony Wills, Illinois State, Sr., G, 6-4, Indianapolis (Ind.) Ben Davis High
